Genetic transformation of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) through Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying Cry1Ab gene

Background: Seed beetles are one of the most important causes of yield loss in bean production. It is essential to develop resistant varieties in the fight against these pests. Agrobacterium-based gene transformation is the most widely used breeding method worldwide to develop insect-resistant varieties. Methods and results: Embryonic axes and plumule explants were obtained from Agrobacterium tumefciens treated mature zygotic embryos of low and high raw protein-based common bean cultivars Akman 98 and Karacaşehir 90. Agrobacterium tumefaciens contained a synthetic Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal crystal protein gene (Bt Cry1Ab) controlled by the 35S promoter and NOS terminator sequences. The transformation event was genotype and explant dependent. The plumule explants could not withstand kanamycin-based selection pressure and died. It was possible to get two transgenic plants using embryonic axis explants of low protein cultivar Akman 98. These results were validated using GUS analysis, PCR, RT-PCR, bioassay analysis, and ELISA test from the samples taken from T0 and T1 generations. Bioassay tests showed that these plants were protected from the damage of legume seed insects (Bruchus spp.). Conclusions: The results are very encouraging and may help in producing better transgenic common bean germplasm leading to safe agriculture and reducing environmental pollutions. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V

Identification of the Retrofit Actions to Achieve Cost-Optimal and NZEB Levels for Residential Buildings in Istanbul Considering the Remaining Building Lifetime

Cost-optimal and nearly-zero energy building (NZEB) levels are two interrelated concepts identified for upgrading energy performance of buildings in Europe. In parallel, many research activities on retrofitting existing buildings in Turkey follow the methodology framework introduced by the European Commission. However, in Turkey, there is a process called "urban transformation" due to the earthquake risk, but the practice is based on new construction after demolishment of existing buildings. Especially in Istanbul, this process has been conducted rapidly. This specific aspect requires assessment of cost-optimal retrofit analyses considering the remaining lifespan of analysed buildings. This study presents a cost-optimality assessment method for retrofitting towards NZEB in Turkey. The method integrates payback period and investment cost assessment to the methodology in order to obtain whole picture for retrofit alternatives. In the paper, suggested method is applied to a reference residential building in Istanbul. After the initial cost-optimal analyses, payback periods and initial investment costs for selected retrofit packages are assessed considering the future lifespan of the building. Together with these, possible subsidy opportunities are also investigated. Results show that, if the expected future lifespan is higher than 10 years, retrofit actions achieving 56.2kWh/m2y primary energy consumption level are considerable. Subsidies are beneficial to obtain reasonable initial investment costs

Identification of the Retrofit Actions to Achieve Cost-Optimal and NZEB Levels for Residential Buildings in Istanbul Considering the Remaining Building Lifetime

Cost-optimal and nearly-zero energy building (NZEB) levels are two interrelated concepts identified for upgrading energy performance of buildings in Europe. In parallel, many research activities on retrofitting existing buildings in Turkey follow the methodology framework introduced by the European Commission. However, in Turkey, there is a process called “urban transformation” due to the earthquake risk, but the practice is based on new construction after demolishment of existing buildings. Especially in Istanbul, this process has been conducted rapidly. This specific aspect requires assessment of cost-optimal retrofit analyses considering the remaining lifespan of analysed buildings. This study presents a cost-optimality assessment method for retrofitting towards NZEB in Turkey. The method integrates payback period and investment cost assessment to the methodology in order to obtain whole picture for retrofit alternatives. In the paper, suggested method is applied to a reference residential building in Istanbul. After the initial cost-optimal analyses, payback periods and initial investment costs for selected retrofit packages are assessed considering the future lifespan of the building. Together with these, possible subsidy opportunities are also investigated. Results show that, if the expected future lifespan is higher than 10 years, retrofit actions achieving 56.2kWh/m2y primary energy consumption level are considerable. Subsidies are beneficial to obtain reasonable initial investment costs

Effect of Economic Indicators on Cost-Optimal Energy Performance Levels of Residential Buildings Retrofits in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey

This study aims to analyse the effect of economic indicators on cost-optimal levels of residential building retrofits in Mediterranean region of Turkey. Sensitivity analyses were applied on the cost-optimality calculation results for the residential reference building. The sensitivity analyses address discount rate and potential investment cost decreases. Results reveal that 6% variation in the discount rate corresponds to more than 30 kWh/m2y difference in the primary energy consumption of the cost-optimal solutions. Potential investment cost decreases for certain retrofit measures are also effective on identified cost-optimal levels and subsidy opportunities appear as an effective tool to achieve higher energy efficiency in existing buildings and to stimulate building energy retrofits

Retrospective Evaluation of the Gubernacular Tract in Impacted%252FUnerupted Teeth with Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

Aim%253A Gubernaculum dentis guides the tooth eruption. This formation, which disappears after teething, continues to exist in impacted teeth. This study aimed to evaluate the gubernacular tract in patients with impacted%252Funerupted teeth who had previously received Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) for a variety of reasons. Material and Methods%253A In this study, the presence and characteristics of the gubernacular tract were evaluated according to age, gender, tooth groups, root development stages and positions of the teeth. 231 patients were included in this study. A total of 431 teeth were evaluated and the mean age of the patients was 28.0plusmn%253B0.90. Impacted teeth were classified according to their location. The presence and features of the gubernacular tract were evaluated using CBCT. Results%253A In the study, the presence of gubernacular tract was most common in canines. The mesioangular and vertical position of impacted teeth exhibited higher gubernacular tract presence, and these data were statistically significant. (Plt%253B0.05) Conclusion%253A This study stated that the frequency of incidence in the tooth groups was evaluated separately, it was determined that the incidence in canine teeth was significantly higher. Characteristics gubernacular tract such as no change, obliteration or contraction are more common in impacted teeth in vertical and mesioangular positions. This process may affect the impact of permanent teeth, but more studies with clinical follow-up are needed to reach definitive conclusions

Soil organic matter, soil pH and soil nutrient dynamics in forest stands after fire

Fires burn, spread and release energy. The process of burning not only helps increase the decomposition of organic matters but also causes the plant nutrients bound to vegetation and organic dead material to get into soil and inflicts changes on the physical and chemical properties of soil. Changes taken place in soils and their status over time are extremely important for the success of the vegetation that will establish on the site after fire. This study presents the results of a study conducted to monitor the changes in plant nutrients and soil’s chemical properties. In the study, soil organic matter, soil reaction (pH), salinity and soil nutrients were measured. Soil reaction, N and K slightly increased after fire and decreased gradually thereafter. Other nutrients gradually decreased after fire throughout the study period. As a result, it can be said that the effect of fires on soils in areas having little or no dead surface fuels are limited, yet important

Investigation of Some Immunological Parameters in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Injected Propolis

In this study, effects of propolis on immunological parameters of rainbow trout were investigated. For this purpose, propolis was intraperitoneally injected to fish 4 times at doses of 2.5, 5 and 10 mg / kg fish weight. Blood samples on 3, 9, 15 and 21 days were collected from fish of the control and experimental groups and analysed to determine oxidative radical production [nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) activity], total plasma protein and total immunoglobulin levels. At the end of the experiment, there was a statistically significant increase in oxidative radical production, total protein and immunoglobulin levels of propolis treated groups when compared to the control group

Investigation of forest fire effects on morel (morchella spp.) mushroom proliferation: a case study of Alucra, Giresun

Türkiye’de her yıl binlerce hektar alanda etkili olan orman yangınlarından sonra yanan alanlarda birçok yeni bitki ve hayvan türü ortaya çıkmaktadır. Aynı şekilde yangınlardan sonra bölgede çok sayıda mantar türünün yoğun olarak ortaya çıktığı bilinmektedir. Bu türlerden kuzugöbeği mantarı (Morchella spp.) fiyatı çok yüksek olmasına rağmen tüm dünyada sevilerek tüketilmektedir. Mantar toplayarak gelir temin eden yöre halkı nazarında kuzugöbeği mantarı potansiyel yüksek bir gelir kaynağıdır. Kuzugöbeği mantarlarının bazı türleri, orman yangınlarından sonra yanmış alanlarda toprak kimyasındaki ani değişiklikler, küçük dal ve yaprakların yanması sonucu oluşan kül birikmesi nedeniyle bol miktarda ortaya çıkar. Bu çalışmanın amacı, yanan ormanlık alanlarda toprak reaksiyonu (pH) ve organik maddeye bağlı olarak kuzugöbeği mantarının çoğalma potansiyelini belirlemektir. Sonuçlar, yangınla birlikte toprak pH'ının ve beraberindeki organik maddenin arttığını ve dolayısıyla kuzugöbeği mantarı çoğalmasının arttığını göstermiştir. Mantar, toprak pH değeri yüksek ve organik madde oranı düşük veya organik maddesi yüksek ve toprak pH değeri düşük topraklarda tek başına tespit edilmemiştir. Alanda yüksek toprak pH'sı ve yüksek organik madde birlikte bulunmalıdır. Orman yangınına maruz kalan ve mantarın bulunduğu alanların ortalama organik madde ve pH değerleri sırasıyla 7,25 ve 6,71 olarak bulunurken, aynı ekolojik özellikleri gösteren yanmamış orman alanının ortalama organik madde ve pH değerleri sırasıyla 5,65 ve 5.98 olarak bulunmuştur. Ülkemiz ormanlarında tahribata neden olan en önemli doğal afetlerden biri olan orman yangınlarının kuzugöbeği mantarı üretimi kapsamında da kullanılabileceği söylenebilir. Yanan alanlardaki mantar üretiminden elde edilen gelir, yerel orman köylülerinin gelirlerini artıracak ve sınırlı yıllık bütçelerine ek bir mali yardım sağlayacaktır.After each forest fire, which are effective in thousands of hectares of land every year in Turkey, many new plant species appear in burning areas and many animals start browsing on these areas. Likewise, it is known that many mushroom species intensely emerge in the area after each fire. Among these species, some species of Morel mushrooms (Morchella spp.), which are consumed all around the world despite their high price. For that reason, it is a very high potential income source for the local forest villagers. Some kinds of Morel mushroom species emerge abundantly in burnt areas after forest fires due to sudden changes in soil chemistry and ash accumulation after the burns of small branches and lives. The aim of this present study is to determine Morel mushroom proliferation growth potential after burnt of forested land based on the soil pH and organic matter. Our results showed that together with the fire, the soil pH and accompanying organic matter increased and therefore proliferation of the morel mushroom increased. The soils that the mushroom was not detected on have either high pH value and low organic matter or high organic matter and low soil pH value alone. A high soil pH and high organic matter should be presented at the site together. The average organic matter and pH values of the area which including mushroom exposed to forest fire were found to be 7.25 and 6.71 respectively while the average organic matter and pH values of the unburned forested area showing same ecological characteristics were found to be 5.65 and 5.98. We conclude that forest fires, one of the most important natural disasters that cause damage in the forests, can also be used within the scope of morel mushroom production. Income from mushroom production in the burnt areas will boost the income of local forest villagers and make an additional financial relief into their limited annual budgets

Değişen öğretim programları ve sınıf içi normlar

Extended AbstractRationale of the study: Turkish curricula have been undergoing a massive change since 2005, especially at primary level. The new curricula set forth certain basic skills that every student at primary level needs to acquire; these skills are: critical and creative thinking, communication, questioning, problem solving, use of information communication technologies, initiation and use of Turkish language eloquently. However, research (Bingolbali et al., 2008; Ozmantar et al., 2008) shows that teachers working at this level experience difficulties in teaching such skills to the students. Hence, the need to help teachers for that matter is obvious. Having recognized this need, this study makes use of the notion of social classroom norms proposed by Cobb and his colleagues (Yackel and Cobb, 1996; Cobb et al., 1997) and suggests that teaching students such skills requires the establishment of certain classroom norms in line with the target skills. Classroom norms could be considered as tacit rules shaped by the interactions and dialogues amongst the agents in the classroom. The norms involve how students and teachers view themselves with regard to teaching and learning activities and what kinds of roles are assigned to the members of the classroom. Norms also reflect value judgements and determine what is important in a classroom regarding teaching and learning.The purpose of the study: This paper aims to demonstrate how the notion of social classroom norms can be used to enable the teachers to get students equipped with the basic skills (e.g. critical thinking and questioning skills) that the new curricula set forth.Method: This is a qualitative study which involves document analysis. To determine the kind of classroom norms, official documents concerning the new curricula are subjected to the content analysis. Further to this, literature (Cobb et al., 1997; Tsai, 2004 & 2007) on classroom norms is examined and the norms developed and used in classrooms by others are evaluated along with the basic skills. The analyses are carried out independently by each of the authors who determined such norms as they think are necessary for basic skills to develop. The determined norms are later compared and contrasted along with the targeted skills by the curricula. The norms are finalized through the agreement of all the authors and the relations between the determined norms and every each of basic skills are detailed.Results: The analyses of the official documents and details of the basic skills given in those documents lead to the development of eight classroom norms which, we believe, need to be existent in each and every classroom concerned with teaching the students these skills. The determined norms are as follows:1.      Explanation of the ideas (i.e. solutions, arguments and explanations)2.      Justification of the arguments3.      Sharing the ideas without any fear4.      Making real effort to understand the others’ ideas5.      Stating agreement or disagreement with the ideas shared in the classrooms6.      Stating explicitly what is understood and what is not7.      Developing alternative solutions8.      Questioning the validity of the argumentsThese norms are closely related to each other and every one of them needs to be established in the classrooms in order to create an environment in which students find opportunities to gain the basic skills that the new curricula aim. The use and importance of these norms are exemplified through dialogues obtained from Cobb et al’s (1997) study. The dialogues take place in a mathematics class where a teacher tries to establish similar norms as proposed in this study. The dialogues are examined in terms of both the norms and the basic skills in such a way to exemplify the relationships amongst them.Discussion: The discussion addresses teachers with regard to creating particular classroom cultures through the determined classroom norms and how these norms can be used to help students to obtain the basic skills. It is argued that the new roles that the curricula assign to the teacher and students during the teaching and learning activities require a dramatic change in the classroom interactions and this in turn necessitates the establishment of classroom norms accordingly. This is particularly important given the fact that norms reflect what is valued during the learning and what is expected of students. The paper also discusses the importance of creating awareness for teachers with regard to the importance of classroom norms and suggests designing in-service teacher professional development programs. However, it is pointed out that the duration of such programs and the methods employed to enable teachers to appreciate the significance of these matters are issues of great importance. İlköğretim seviyesinde, 2005 yılında yenilenen öğretim programları, öğrencilerin bazı beceriler (eleştirel düşünme ve araştırma-sorgulama becerileri gibi) kazanmasını hedeflemiştir. Bu çalışmada, söz konusu becerilerin öğrencilere kazandırılmasına yönelik olarak, Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı tarafından hazırlanan öğretim programları incelenerek sınıf içinde oluşturulması gereken bir takım normlar belirlenmiştir. Belirlenen “sınıf içi normlar” ile programların hedeflediği her bir beceri arasındaki ilişki sınıf ortamında elde edilmiş veriler üzerinden örneklendirilmiştir. Son olarak, sınıf içinde oluşturulması gereken normların, öğrencilerin bahsedilen becerileri kazanabilmelerine nasıl katkıda bulunacağı tartışılmıştır